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Benchmark hifi12/7/2023 ![]() The headphone section is powered by a power amp from THX, employing the same AAA (Achromatic Audio Amplifier) technology first used by the company in its AHB2. What’s more unusual is that, unlike most headphone amps able to double as a preamp, this one doesn’t split its output between headphone sockets and preouts, but actually has discrete amplifier sections for the two functions. The diminutive dimensions – it’s just 22cm wide, not much deeper and a sniff under 10cm tall – should come as no surprise given the similarly small, but ever-so-mighty AHB2 power amp also from the Syracuse, NY, company. ![]() The fact Benchmark describes its product as a ‘Reference Stereo Headphone Amplifier and Reference Line Amplifier with Relay Gain and Input Control’, which should give you some idea of what’s going on here, but only hints at the fact that this is actually two completely separate products packed into one relatively compact unit. Well, when I say ‘merely’ I do the HPA4 a disservice, as there’s nothing mere about it. Available in either silver or black finishes and selling for £3295 here in the UK, it has no built-in digital-to-analogue conversion and so, like Luxman’s luxury heavyweight, is merely an all-analogue headphone amp. Īrguably closer in outlook to Luxman’s P-750u, Benchmark’s HPA4 is none of the above. And the hardware is changing, too: the market is awash with DAC/headphone amp combos, all the way from the tiny (and highly portable) AudioQuest DragonFly models, to the ‘transportable’ Chord Hugo 2 and mains-powered units such as the iFi Audio Pro iDSD. Not only are hi-fi shows shining a spotlight on the personal listening experience but dedicated headphone events have spun out in their own right. With the boom in headphone listening outpacing even the uptake of new turntables, the hi-fi landscape has changed to a significant extent. Designed to match its compact DACs, Benchmark’s all-analogue headphone amplifier employs the same THX ‘Achromatic’ tech debuted in its 100W AHB2 power amp
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